The Ryzen 5 2600, from AMD’s second generation (Zen+) of high-end desktop Ryzen processors, supersedes the first generation Ryzen 5 1600. The newer generation sees a lithography reduction from 14nm to 12nm, but no increase in the number of cores and threads (6 and 12 respectively) over the ground-breaking first generation which continues to surpass similarly priced Intel CPUs in terms of multi-core performance. In other words, progress between generations is predominantly driven by power efficiency and therefore higher attainable clock speeds. The 2600 appears to have a stock base/boost clock of 3.4 / 3.9 GHz compared to the 1600’s 3.2 / 3.6 GHz which is expected to result in a modest increase in effective speed that said, early benchmarks are inconclusive. Included in the expected retail price of about $200 is a Wraith Stealth cooler, so the 2600, like the 1600 before it, represents great value for money, especially for workstation users. The 2600 compliments the new 400 series motherboards and is also backwards compatible with the 300 series following a bios update. [Apr '18CPUPro]

The Ryzen 5 1600X is the flagship processor from AMD's latest generation of Ryzen 5 processors which feature the Zen architecture. Following on from last month's release of the Ryzen 7 series, the Ryzen 5 series is positioned as a less expensive mid-performance alternative to Intel's i5 mainstream offerings. Once again, AMD excels in multi-core technology. Like the Ryzen 5 1600, the 1600X features 6 cores and 12 threads, but has roughly 11% higher clock speeds (out of the box) for a 14% premium. Like all Ryzen CPUs the 1600X is unlocked. The 1600X is the only Ryzen 5 CPU with a TDP of 95W, the 1600, 1500X and 1400 all have 50% lower power consumption of 65W. Due to its high thread count, UserBenchmarks show that at stock clocks the 1600X outperforms the i7-7700k on multi-threaded tasks by 23%, but it lags behind by 23% for single and 14% for quad-core performance. The 1600X is priced keenly at $249 so a more appropriate CPU comparison is the i5-7600k where the 1600X wins on stock multi-core by a whopping 81%. The 1600X does represent great value for workstation users that also game but its $30 cheaper sibling, the 1600 (non x version), which includes a cooler and has great overclocking potential out of the box is arguably the the value king in this segment. [Apr '17CPUPro]

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We calculate effective speed which measures real world performance for typical consumers. Effective speed is adjusted by current prices to yield a value for money rating which is geared towards gamers. Our calculated values are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top CPUs. [CPUPro]

Welcome to our freeware PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best upgrades.